


Just For A Moment

by kirallie



Series: Star Wars [5]
Category: Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 09:56:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3483962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirallie/pseuds/kirallie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just for one moment Darth Vader allows himself to act as a Father and not a Sith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just For A Moment

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.  
One Shot set in ESB. 

Just For A Moment

He stared at his son as the child clung tenaciously to the metal, a fatal drop beneath him. He stretched his hand out to the boy, Padme’s son, even as the boy screamed out his denial. But the Force whispered the undeniable truth and Vader knew Luke could hear it too. He may only have basic Jedi training but he was strong, as his son how could he be anything else? But pain and shock were taking their toll on the youth and Vader could feel his consciousness flicker alarmingly. “Take my hand Luke.” He urged. Promising to kill him had been easy but staring at him now he knew he could never destroy his own child, all that was left of his beloved Padme.

“No.” Luke whispered but his grip was slipping, the wind pulling at him relentlessly.

Vader moved as close as he dared, doubting the section Luke had crawled across would take his far greater weight. He reached out with the Force even as Luke finally passed out and let go. Even as he began to fall Vader caught him and pulled his limp body closer until he was safely in his arms. He stared at the injuries their fight had caused and felt a flash of guilt for the first time in years. Luke may have his hair and eyes but he had Padme’s height, nose and chin. A gloved hand gently brushed sweat soaked hair back from his face. For the first time in almost two decades he didn’t know what to do. He should take the boy to his Master and then watch as he was either turned or killed and yet he hesitated. Could he watch Luke’s light extinguished like that? That really left only one option, return him to the Rebellion and pray the Force kept him safe.

Vader sighed and then adjusted his grip on Luke before striding from the room. He could sense the Princess and his companions on one of the nearby landing platforms. He wasn’t surprised they had escaped his men, she was as resourceful and another Senator had once been. All he had to do was get there before they left and turn Luke over to them. His son remained utterly limp in his hold as he navigated the hallways only to stop at the doors onto the platform as he felt the Falcon take off. He was running out of options and Luke needed medical aide soon. While the wound had been cauterised by his lightsaber so he was not losing blood shock was a worrying factor. Luke made a soft noise of distress and Vader shifted his grip to gently stroke his hair, soothing him. He pulled out his commlink and contacted his shuttle, ordering all personnel off to search the station for Luke. He waited a few seconds to give them time and then headed for his shuttle, using the Force to remain unseen. 

He lay Luke down on the medical bunk on the shuttle and turned the various monitoring systems on. He then reached for Luke through the Force to help nudge him into a healing trance, watching as several readings moved closer to normal once the trance was achieved. That was a good sign. He looked through what was provided and found the best option, slipping it over the severed wrist and then sealing it over Luke’s lower arm. The bacta would promote healing and help later when a prosthetic was attached. Thankfully artificial limbs had come a long way since he had lost his hand on Geonosis. No one would ever be tell by sight that Luke had lost his hand. He then covered the worst of the various cuts and injected an antibacterial to lower the chances of infection. He also took a blood sample and ran it through the computer to check his health generally. Overall he appeared to be in good condition though lacking in a few vitamins but another shot took care of that. He splinted his lower left leg when the scan came back showing a hairline fracture, not wanting to risk it breaking further. Luke needed access to an actual medical facility not to mention a way back to his own fleet. 

Vader sat beside the bunk just watching his son as the medicines and machines worked to stabilise him. Who knew if he would ever get the chance to simply watch over his child again? After this they would be enemies once more, each fighting on opposite sides of the war. It could not be any different, he would not give the boy to Sidious and he could not leave his Master. 

"Ben……Yoda…….Father……” The tormented whispers left his son and Vader hesitated, unsure what to do. Yoda? How could Luke know of the Grand Master unless….was it possible the old troll still lived? That would explain how Luke’s presence felt more trained now than over the Death Star or even the brief flash he had detected on Hoth. “Leia…..” His son called desperately. 

“Hush Luke, rest my son.” Vader spoke as gently as possible, unable to take the anguish in his sons’ calls. Blue eyes fluttered open slightly before falling shut again. It was better that Luke did not wake, he did not want to face his fear and pain right now. 

Sound from the landing pad had him standing and moving to the ramp only to stare in surprise at the sight that greeted him. The astromech wheeling towards him and whistling was so familiar. A slight smile crossed his lips beneath his mask as he remembered the faithful droid. It made sense the loyal droid had made its way to Luke’s side since he had been with Padme when Luke was born. And right now the small droid was telling him off and all but threatening him if Luke was harmed. “Your Master is very much alive old friend.” R2 hesitated, beeping in confusion before suddenly exploding in noise as he obviously made the connection. “Come R2, he will need you to return to his friends.” The small droid followed him into the shuttle, sad noises coming from him as he took in Luke’s condition. “If Luke is returned to his ship can you take him back to the Rebel Fleet?” He questioned and R2 beeped the affirmative. “No one must know I returned him or of our connection, it will place him in more danger.” R2 made a sad noise and bumped his leg gently. “No, I cannot come.” R2 fell silent and they watched as Luke slept until he was deemed stable enough to move. Vader then scooped his child up in his arms and left the shuttle, R2 following right behind. They made their way to where Luke had landed his X-Wing and Vader leapt up, balancing awkwardly beside the cockpit as he lowered Luke in as carefully as possible. He picked up Luke’s helmet and carefully settled it over his head before strapping him in securely. He levitated R2 up and into his spot, the little droid quickly running the pre-flight routine. “Look after him R2.” Vader ordered and the droid whistled in agreement. “Farewell my son. May the Force be with you.” He murmured and then dropped back to the ground and moved away even as the ship began to life off. He stood there until the ship was out of sight and then returned to his shuttle, calling off the search for Luke in order to return to the Executor. 

On the way he felt his son’s presence vanish as his fighter went to light speed. He had done what he could to spare the child this time. But they would meet again one day and the Force told him only one of them would come out of that encounter alive. He found he truly did not wish to ever kill Padme’s son. If Yoda still lived then the next time they met his son would be even further in his Jedi training. He did not understand why the boy felt so untrained, he had to be almost twenty years old, in the days of the Republic he would be of an age to begin preparation for his Trials yet he felt more like a Padawan of only a few years. What had Obi-Wan been doing with him all these years?

`````````````````````````````````````  
Luke slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a ceiling. He blinked dazedly and looked around, recognising the medical frigate instantly. And standing beside his bed was a pale Leia Organa. “Welcome back Luke.”

“What happened?” He was confused, how had he gotten back to the Fleet? 

"Your X-wing just appeared yesterday with R2 piloting. You were unconscious but strapped in to the cockpit. Luke your….your hand.” She whispered and he winced. Luke took a deep breath and looked down only to frown in confusion. He raised his arm and stared at the hand where he knew there shouldn’t be one. “They’ll need to run a few tests to make sure the connections are all working properly. The wound…it was Vader, wasn’t it?” She asked softly and he nodded absently. How could he have been in his ship? The last thing he remembered was clinging to the thing railing above a hundred foot drop. He should be dead or a guest of the Empire. Unless…..no, it was impossible. Vader would not have let him go. No matter what revelations he had given. He needed to speak to Yoda or Ben again. Why had they never told him? It didn’t matter, the Sith that took his hand was not his Father and would never have let him go.

The End.


End file.
